In one aspect, this invention relates to a process for removing metals from a substantially liquid hydrocarbon-containing feed stream, which also contains metal compounds as impurities. In another aspect, this invention relates to a new, efficient metal phosphate catalyst composition that is used in a hydrotreating process for removing metals from a substantially liquid hydrocarbon-containing feed steam.
It is well known that crude oil, heavy petroleum products, products from extraction and/or liquifaction of coal and lignite, products from tar sands, products from shale oil and similar products may contain metals such as vanadium, nickel, iron and arsenic. When these hydrocarbon-containing feeds are fractionated, the metals tend to concentrate in the heavier fractions such as the topped crude and residuum. The presence of these metals makes further processing of these heavier fractions difficult since the metals generally act as poisons for catalysts employed in downstream processes such as catalytic cracking, hydrogenation, hydrodesulfurization or hydrodenitrogenation. There are known processes for removing these metals from hydrocarbon-containing feeds. However, there is an ever present need to develop new, efficient hydrofining processes and catalyst compositions used therein.